China's crude steel production increased

China's crude steel production in the January-February period increased by 1.6% to 167.96 million tons. This corresponds to an average production of 2.8 million tons per day, which is significantly higher than the average in December.

Many Chinese steel producers continued to maintain high levels of production during the January-February period. However, the Chinese New Year holiday celebrated in mid-February resulted in calmness in the domestic steel market.

NBS data also shows that processed steel production reached 213.4 million tons during the January-February period, marking a 7.9% annual increase. High production and weak demand led to a significant increase in both producers' and traders' final steel inventories.

By the end of February, the total stocks of the five main steel products increased by 61% compared to two months ago, reaching 7.1 million tons. The total volume in trader depots also increased by 82.6% over the two-month period, reaching 28.67 million tons.

High production and weak demand led to a decrease in steel prices in China during the January-February period. As of February 29, the national average price of construction steel was 3,983 Yuan/ton ($553/ton) including 13% VAT.